One of the ruinous effects of human conflicts, war has a detrimental impact on the human society. War not only has an effect on the lives of the victims but also on the lives of soldiers fighting those wars. In the precarious and life threatening circumstances of war, human beings tend to behave in a contradictory manner. This contradictory behavior continues even when these soldiers return to civilian life. The negative effects of war on the soldiers prevent them from leading a normal civilian life. In some cases, even though the soldiers survive the war, they became victims of the manipulative politics played by their countries. The movie Breaker Morant by Bruce Beresford and the book Odysseus in America by Jonathan Shay focuses on this negative aspect of soldiers lives. The movie Breaker Morant depicts the trial of Australian Army officers, Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton, who served Bushveldt Carbineers at the time of Second Boer War. In the book Odysseus in America, Shay, a psychiatrist, writes about the negative impact post-traumatic stress is having on the soldiers returned from Vietnam War. Both these works bring forth the damaging effect war has on the lives of soldiers through the portrayal of soldiers facing the problems of betrayal or post-traumatic stress.
Detrimental Effects of War
The movie Breaker Morant and the book Odysseus in America presents the various problems faced by the soldiers in course of the war, and even after the end of war. The movie Breaker Morant shows how the soldiers have to deal not only with their enemies but also with their superiors who exploit the soldiers to serve their own purposes. The movie revolves around the trial of Australian Army officers, Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton who are facing the charges of murdering seven Boer prisoners. Morant is accused of leading these attacks on the Boer prisoners in retaliation, as Morant believed that his friend, Captain Hunt was murdered by the Boers. Harry Morant, who is also known as Breaker Morant and George Witton are also accused of killing Rev. Hesse, a German missionary. As the trial progress, it becomes evident that Morant, Handcock and Witton are victims of manipulative politics played by Britain, a country for which these soldiers risked their lives in the war. Morant, Handcock and Witton had killed the Boer prisoners because they were ordered to do so by their superiors. But as these orders were conveyed to them orally, they were unable to prove their innocence. Although Major Thomas, their defense lawyer tries hard to save Morant, Handcock and Witton from being executed, these soldiers are held guilty of the murder and awarded the death sentence.
The manner in which the trial is conducted proves that Morant, Handcock and Witton were utilized as scapegoats by Britain to achieve its political aims. The biased attitude of the prosecuting attorney and their witnesses shows that the trial was a charade, as Britain has already decided to execute these soldiers even before the commencement of the trial. In the end, Morant and Handcock are executed whereas Wittons death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. The British army, which is supposed to protect the soldiers fighting from his side, plans to execute Morant and Handcock in spite of the fact that they were just fulfilling their duties as soldiers fighting for them. The negative effects of war on the lives of the soldiers are portrayed in the movie through the betrayal experienced by Morant, Handcock and Witton. The British army betrays these soldiers and executes them for murdering Boer prisoners even though these soldiers were ordered by their superiors to kill the Boer prisoners. Owing to the injustice meted out to them by the British army, Morant and Hancock lose faith in the existence of a divine power. They are distrustful of everyone, for they come to regard all people around them to be their enemies. The politics involved in wars leads Morant and Hancock to their execution for the murders they had committed on the orders of the superiors. The political strategies of war bring an end to the lives of these soldiers and that also at the hands of the country for which they have fought in the war.
Even after the end of the war, the negative influence of war on the lives of the soldiers continues, as numerous soldiers suffer from post traumatic stress and find it difficult to lead a peaceful civilian life. The book Odysseus in America focuses on this detrimental effect of war on the lives of the soldiers. The author writes about the difficulties experienced by Vietnam War veterans in adjusting to the civilian life. The soldiers fighting in the war are so overwhelmed by their horrific experiences at the war that they engage in violent behavior even after they return to civilian lives. The book presents examples of numerous Vietnam veterans to bring forth the damaging effects the development of post traumatic stress has on the civilian lives of the soldiers. One such soldier, who finds it difficult to fit himself in the peaceful civilian life, is Bear Mercer. The horrifying war experiences haunt Bear and hinder him from assimilating in a life which is far different from one he led during the war. Now in nightmares and flashbacks the color of his blood, changing from bright red to almost black in his squad who crushed the dead mans chest with a boulder, drenching Bear with blood that squirted out of the severed neck arteries. (Shay 23). His mind is burdened with the guilt for carrying out the brutal killings during the war. His thinking is so influenced by his experiences at the war that his reaction to any incident in his civilian life, which is similar to the one in war, is identical. Any incompetence Bear encounters in civilian life arouses the same feelings of fear, rage, and grief. When he yanked his general supervisor at the post office across his own desk and screamed at him, he screamed exactly the same words he screamed at his incompetent CO. (Shay 25). Post traumatic stress also leads to the development of distrust in the war veterans. The war veterans look at the people around them with distrust.
The family lives of these war veterans are also affected owing to the various problems caused by post traumatic stress. Even in the matter of their careers, these war veterans find their work uninteresting compared to the combat duties they carried out during the war. Many, like Bear, who joined uniformed services quit or were fired after relatively short careers. Unlike Bear, some found civilian policing too boring authority relationships and apparently meaningless administrative tasks. (Shay 26). This book throws light on the fact that the detrimental effects of war on the soldiers is evident in every aspect of their lives even after they return to the civilian lives owing to the development of post traumatic stress in the soldiers.
Conclusion
The movie Breaker Morant and the book Odysseus in America bring forth the detrimental effects war has on the lives of soldiers fighting those wars. The movie Breaker Morant shows how international politics involved in the war leads to the execution of three soldiers for a murder they have committed on the orders of their superiors. These soldiers became victims of betrayal by a country for whom they risked their lives in the war. The book Odysseus in America depicts the negative impact war experiences has on the soldiers even after returning to civilian lives through the portrayal of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress. Both these works present the various kinds of difficulties and hardships encountered by soldiers during the war and even after end of the war.
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